We work out the dynamics of the compressible edge of the quantum Hall system
based on the electrostatic model of Chklovskii et al.. We introduce a
generalized version of Wen's hydrodynamic quantization approach to the dynamics
of sharp edge and rederive Aleiner and Glazman's earlier result of multiple
density modes. Bosonic operators of density excitations are used to construct
fermions at the interface of the compressible and incompressible region. We
also analyze the dynamics starting with the second-quantized Hamiltonian in the
lowest Landau level and work out the time development of density operators.
Contrary to the hydrodynamic results, the density modes are strongly coupled.
We argue that the coupling suppresses the propagation of all acoustic modes,
and that the excitations with large wavevectors are subject to decay due to
coupling to the dissipative acoustic modes.A possible correction to the
tunneling density of states is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, Revtex, 1 figur